


Everybody Finds Out

by MistressJulia



Category: Designing Women
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:26:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23433127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressJulia/pseuds/MistressJulia
Summary: A take on what happens when Suzanne finds out about our favorite couple.
Relationships: Anthony Bouvier/Julia Sugarbaker
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

"Thanks again for staying the night with me, Mary Jo."

Mary Jo turned in her seat to look at Charlene, smiling at her and shaking her head. "Charlene, I told you--it's no trouble. Really. Ted's got the kids this week, so my house is so quiet it's spooky! Really, I'm glad to spend the night with you and Olivia, it'll be fun."

Charlene smiled gratefully at Mary Jo, turning her eyes back to the road. "I know. Still, I really am grateful. These past couple weeks without Bill have just been rough. Libby's been refusing to go down at night, so I spend hours awake, just wandering the halls with her and praying she'll go to sleep."

"Yeah, that's that stage of motherhood no one warns you about--the terrible ones that come before the even more terrible twos" Mary Jo said, smirking wryly and remembering when her children were young.

"Hopefully tonight Olivia will go straight to sleep so we can have some fun, maybe watch a movie since it's a Friday, you know, something like that."

"Sounds great" Mary Jo said as Charlene eased her car into the driveway. She shut the engine off and they slowly walked up the driveway and to the door as Charlene rummaged through her purse, looking for her keys.

"Oh no."

"What?"

"My keys."

"What about your keys?"

"They're not in here!" Charlene gasped, remembering how she had left them in the left side of her desk after lunch instead of in the right side. "I must've forgot to put them back in my purse! Oh, we'll have to go all the way back to the office."

Ordinarily, Mary Jo's patience would've been worn thin, but the mother in her remembered how frazzled she'd been when her children were Olivia's age, so she just smiled and said, "It's no big deal, Charlene. Accidents happen. We're not that far away, it'll only take about 15 minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right" Charlene replied wearily, feeling like a moron as they trudged back to her car. 

As it turns out, Mary Jo's estimate had been spot on, and it was exactly 15 minutes later that they pulled back into the driveway at Sugarbaker's, careful to shut off the lights before rolling up Julia's driveway.

"Think she's asleep?" Charlene asked quietly, looking up at the large white house that loomed in front of them.

"Doubt it, the lights are still on. Looks like she's still in the living room. We'll just slip in and grab the keys; if she's upstairs she'll hardly notice we were there, and if she's downstairs she'll know it's us because I've got a key to the front door."

"Okay, alright" Charlene replied nervously, stopping momentarily as she furrowed her brow. 

"What?" Mary Jo asked, glancing up at Charlene as she fished her keys from her purse.

"Look--Anthony's car is still here."

"So?"

"Well, it's a little late, don't you think?"

"Charlene, it's only 6:30, and anyway, he probably stayed late to help Julia finish some stuff, no big deal."

"But I thought Anthony left when we left" Charlene said, trying to remember what exactly had happened only an hour prior when they'd packed up their things to go home.

"Guess not" Mary Jo said, easing her key into the lock. It turned quietly, and she slowly opened the front door, stepping inside.

She felt Charlene freeze beside her as they stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes widening in unison as they caught sight of Julia and Anthony in the kitchen. She was propped up on the counter, her blouse half open and legs wrapped around Anthony's torso as they kissed passionately. Anthony ran his hands up her thighs, sliding them up under her skirt before Charlene's voice cut through the silence.

"Ohmygod!" 

Both Anthony and Julia whipped their heads toward the door, catching sight of Mary Jo and Charlene in the doorway, their mouths open and eyes steadied on them in disbelief.

"MaryJoCharlene!" Julia exclaimed, shoving Anthony off of her and jumping from the counter, her hands frantically trying to close the buttons on her blouse as her feet found her shoes again. 

"What are y'all doin' here?" Anthony cried, straightening his sweater and closing the belt around his waist.

"What are we doing here, what are y'all doin' THERE?" Mary Jo asked, taking a few steps inside and looking at them in bewilderment.

"We was just--"

"THAT is none of your business!" Julia snapped, cutting Anthony off and walking swiftly around the counter.

"I forgot my house keys, I'll just--"

"NO! No" Julia snapped, raising a hand and marching toward the front door, shutting it behind them and crossing her arms in front of her angrily. "Nobody is going anywhere."

"Why?" Mary Jo asked nervously, seeing that cold expression on Julia's face that she knew so well.

Julia glanced back at Anthony, who was standing at the far end of the living room, before looking back at the both of them. "Because...well...". She sighed, glancing at the ground momentarily before continuing, "Because I guess we owe you all an explanation."

"I have two children, I know what that was, Julia, really it's okay--"

"Mary Jo, wait" Julia said firmly, raising her hand again. "I'm sorry. As your boss, and the head of Sugarbaker's, what you saw was both unfortunate and unprofessional."

"Uh-huh" Charlene replied meekly, starring at the ground.

"We didn't know y'all were here" Anthony said, still tugging at his clothes and looking more contrite than sorry.

"It's just...well...Anthony and I have been...seeing each other...for the last few weeks, and hadn't yet told any of you because we weren't ready" Julia said softly, stepping toward Anthony as he came up beside her and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"You mean like...dating?" Charlene asked.

"Yes, Charlene" Julia answered in a dead pan voice, inwardly rolling her eyes at the question.

"Congratulations" Mary Jo said, still dumbfounded that both she and Anthony had managed to keep things under wraps well enough for no one to have even guessed what was going on.

"So I guess things are going well" Charlene said, smiling stupidly at them and nodding in an attempt to be supportive.

Julia turned bright red and Anthony turned away from her, shifting uncomfortably as Julia mumbled in reply.

"Well...well...this was certainly unexpected but...you know what, we're--we're happy for you" Mary Jo said, smiling at both of them. "Really, I mean, sure, at first I was blindsided, and then I was embarrassed for you...and us...but that's alright! It's okay. I know that we're all adults and I say, if you can make each other happy then...then more power to ya!"

Julia glanced at Anthony as he cocked a disbelieving brow at Mary Jo and said, "Really?"

"Yeah, yeah, really. I mean, for all the years we've worked together, you've been single, Anthony, and Julia, you had your thing with Reese, but neither of you have had much...stability or anything, so I say--go for it."

"You do?"

"YES, Charlene" Mary Jo snapped, shooting her a glare.

"Oh, oh, I mean, yes, yes, I agree" Charlene stammered, still feeling bewildered but smiling at them nonetheless. "I think Mary Jo's right. I mean, if you're happier together more than apart then there's no reason for you to feel ashamed."

At this, Julia glanced back at Anthony again as he looked down at her. 

"Well...well I am happier with you Julia, I can tell you that much" he said softly, shyness crossing his face.

"...You are?" she asked quietly, turning a little as she looked up at him.

"Well yeah, I mean...I definitely like you, a lot."

Mary Jo and Charlene watched as Julia looked shyly at the ground and smiled to herself, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment and girlish excitement.

"Y'all..." Charlene sighed, looking adoringly at them.

"Come on, Charlene" Mary Jo said firmly, grabbing her arm and leading her toward the front door. 

"Goodnight" Julia called sheepishly, smiling at them before looking up at Anthony shyly, Mary Jo catching sight of something sparkling in her doe eyes that she never saw when Julia looked at Reese.

They shut the door behind them, leaving Anthony and Julia alone in the silence of her living room as they listened to the engine start up and the car drive off, Julia walking over to the front door to lock it once again.

"So...," Anthony said, shoving his hands in his pockets and looking boyishly at her, "that was interesting."

"It was" she said softly, standing nervously by the door, her hands clasped in front of her as she smiled at him.

"So..."

"Yeah, so..." Julia replied awkwardly, shuffling her feet shyly.

"You wanna come back over here so I can show you how happy you make me...?" Anthony asked quietly, looking at her with a small grin on his face. 

"Mmkay" Julia mumbled, trying to maintain her composure but feeling girlishly nervous in a way she hadn't in years. 

Anthony wrapped his hands around her waist and kissed her passionately, looking at Julia and saying softly, "You know, I guess it's a good thing we got caught."

"Why's that?" she asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Well because as things stand...I have no intention of letting you go" he replied quietly, stroking her back as she giggled shyly.

"Mm-hmmm" she hummed, giggling again and resting her face against his as she kissed his cheek, feeling something inside herself she hadn't felt in years. 

As Anthony stroked her gently and held her against him, she finally realized what it was: safe. 

She finally felt safe.


	2. Chapter 2

The very next day, Mary Jo and Charlene were not completely sure how they should act around their boss. Though they had noted no awkward feelings were to be had about what they had happened upon, they did not know how they were supposed to go back to the way things were before. Mary Jo, for her part, fought to keep from teasing Julia, who she had assumed had hung her skates up as a sexual being. Charlene did not have as much self control as her henna haired counterpart and she interjected with a question ever so often that made Julia look at her with her infamous terminator glare.

'Is it true what they say about black men in bed?' Charlene asked as she spread peanut butter on a saltene cracker.

'Charlene! I think Julia has had enough of your badgering her for the day...' Mary Jo trailed off, staring in wonderment at her endlessly curious friend.

'Well, I know that Anthony is our delivery man and all... I am just curious. You know how I feel about knowledge. I yearn for it. It's like a sickness.' Charlene sighed. 'Besides, I will tell you Bill's statistics if you all tell me about your men.'

'Absolutely not!' Julia spouted, looking up from her desk with a slight blush on her cheeks and an unimpressed glare. 'This is a place of bunsiess and we will not be holding such tasteless conversations when anyone could just walk in. Can we act like we have some kind of semblance of dignity. I am certainly not the first lady to sleep with someone of a different race.'

'I... I'm sorry, Julia... I just... I never knew anyone that dated a black man before. I didn't mean to upset you.' Charlene apologized as she turned back to the task at hand, screwing the lid on the peanut butter jar. 

'I will forgive you this time but you all need to watch what you say. The last thing that I want to do is have to explain what's going on to you know who.' Julia sighed, as she referred to her audacious little sister. 

'I second that.' Mary Jo agreed as she gave a little giggle. 'This is just going to stick right in her craw. Suzanne considers Anthony to be one of her best girlfriend's.' 

'I am well aware of that, Mary Jo. That is why Anthony and I would prefer that we wait for a more appropriate time to tell her about this development. We are having too good of a time with each other to have to worry about it Suzanne's dramatics.' Julia insisted as she slid her reading glasses from her face. 

'I think we are all aware of how good of a time you all are having.' Charlene chuckled as she took a bite out of her little snack, giving Julia a knowing grin. 

'Could you imagine if Suzanne had been with us?' Mary Jo asked, laughing out loud as she thought back to Julia sitting on the countertop, her limbs wrapped tightly around Anthony. 'She would have beside herself! It would be just like that time that they wanted to take her crown away.'

'And, we don't need to go through that again which is why I am asking for your discretion.' Julia insisted as she stood from her desk and sauntered over to the coffee pot. 

As she was pouring a cup of coffee, the backdoor opened and Anthony walked in. He smiled at the sight of his new lover and walked over quietly, wrapping an arm around her waist. It felt good to be able to finally do this without having to hide what was going on between them. 

'Good morning.' Anthony said, his tone soft and personal as he watched Julia set the full mug down. 

'Good morning.' Julia smiled warmly as she felt herself being turned around and then kissed gently on the lips by the younger man.

Charlene and Mary Jo tried not to stare. They wanted to give Julia and Anthony some sort of modicum of privacy but still they could not help but steal glances, happy that those two had somehow found each other. Happiness just radiated from them both as they kissed and subsequently went about their morning routine, talking about the plans for the day ahead. 

They both vowed that somehow they were going to keep Suzanne from discovering what they themselves had stumbled upon.


	3. Chapter 3

"Charlene?"

"What?"

"You're staring."

"I am?"

"YES."

"Oh, sorry" Charlene mumbled sheepishly, throwing a nervous glance at Mary Jo as Suzanne glared at her, nail file still in hand.

"You've been staring at me all mornin', might be easier to take a picture" she snapped, rolling her eyes and looking back down at her nails.

"Yeah, uh-huh" Charlene mumbled again, turning her face away as she fidgeted nervously.

Suzanne raised her head again, catching sight of Mary Jo shooting Charlene a frantic glare and said, "What's goin' on, are y'all hiding something from me?"

"No, no!" they exclaimed in unison, both looking away quickly and avoiding Suzanne's penetrating gaze.

"Ah-ha! I knew it! You are, I know you are! If there's one thing you can't do, it's lie."

"Suzanne, we are not hiding anything from you" Mary Jo snapped, rolling her eyes and hiding her face behind her hand as she feigned interest in her sketch.

"Yeah, and even if we were, it's none of your business!" Charlene blurted out before she could stop herself, her eyes going wide at the sight of the gleam in Suzanne's eyes as she stared penetratingly at her.

"CHARLENE!"

"Ooohhhh, what is it? It must be good, come on, tell me!" Suzanne chirped, bouncing excitedly in her seat and grinning like a child.

"NO, Suzanne" Mary Jo snapped, smacking her hand on her desk.

"Charlene?" Suzanne asked in a syrupy voice, looking at the deer-eyed expression on her face.

"NO Charlene!" Mary Jo cried.

"I'm not!"

Before they could go further, the front door swung open and Julia strode in, shutting the door firmly behind her and dropping her purse on her chair. 

"Julia, Mary Jo and Charlene are hiding somethingggggg!" Suzanne cried, looking at them gleefully.

Julia's head shot up and her face froze as she stared carefully at Charlene and then at Mary Jo, Mary Jo subtly shaking her head to let Julia know they hadn't said anything.

Julia inhaled deeply, affecting an indifferent expression before saying, "Well, I certainly don't know what it is, nor does it matter, we've got work to do."

"Oh come on, you've gotta be kidding, Julia. You not care about what people are hiding, yeah right" Suzanne scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Well, I just as soon assume you knew what--"

Suzanne stopped short, watching Julia's face freeze again before slowly rising from her seat on the sofa and walking toward her desk. She stopped at the edge of it, placing her nail file--point down--in front of her before asking, "Where were ya this afternoon, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Julia asked as casually as possible, throwing her a blank stare.

"This afternoon, at lunch. You almost never go out at lunch unless you're with someone, and the only person who wasn't here was Anthony."

Julia inhaled sharply, fiddling with a stack of paperwork before replying, "Well...well, I was with Anthony, Suzanne, I mean, I probably told you this a hundred times, that we'd be out this afternoon."

"Doing what?"

"The Dillingham's, Suzanne, seems like you weren't paying attention."

Suzanne stared carefully at Julia before snatching the nail file from her desk and stalking back to the sofa. "Nonsense. I may not listen, but I'd remember you mentioning that, besides--why would you need to be there with Anthony? It's not like you're any use to our delivery man when he's hauling furniture around."

"As it so happens, the Dillingham's wanted to meet with me while Anthony was working. Are you satisfied, Suzanne?"

Suzanne glared at her over her shoulder but huffed in reply, casting another suspicious glance around the room before looking back down at her nails. 

"Fine, keep your secrets--I'll find out eventually" she said haughtily, filing away as Julia turned pale behind her, shifting nervously in her seat.


	4. Chapter 4

Suzanne was beside herself. She could not believe that there was a secret that she did not yet know about. She could not stand it when people kept things from her. Especially when it was her own dear friends and older sister, who Suzanne was sure knew exactly what was going on but pretending that she didn't. The aging beauty queen could not help herself. The unknown eluded her as it did all of the Sugarbaker women. They just could not stand to be left out.

She tried not to make it seem as though she had been bothered by the secret looks and little hints that passed between Julia and the other ladies. She observed everything but nothing in particular stood out as unusual except for the fact that Julia and Anthony appeared to be spending a great deal of time working together. More than they ever had in the past.

That was it! They must be about to give Anthony some kind of new position or special promotion. 'Well, I never...' She thought. Anthony had already become a partner in the business... What was left for him? A complete takeover? Suzanne huffed. If anyone was to takeover and carry the Sugarbaker name, then you can bet that it would be her.

The aging beauty queen wasted no time stripping out of her peignoir and hoping inside of her Mercedes. She was going to confront Julia, sister to sister. She wanted to know what was going on. Suzanne had promised that she would eventually find everything out on her own but she was getting no where alone... They were clammed up tight and Suzanne had tried all of the ways that she knew to infiltrate their wall.

She drove purposely through the quiet neighborhood streets until she got to Julia's house. It was going on eight o'clock and the lights were still on in the living room. The sage was probably just finishing up some kind of work stuff before the weekend or cleaning up after dinner. She parked in the front, not even taking notice of the other car that was parked out back beside Julia's Buick.

Sugarbaker's was practically Suzanne's second home and she wasted no time with any nicities like ringing the doorbell or knocking. Not unless she thought that Julia was already upstairs. The buxom woman twisted the doorknob and gave a chesire cat grin when it opened easily. She walked in, expecting to see Julia sitting on the couch but the living room was empty.

Maybe, Julia had just run upstairs to get something. Suzanne sighed as she walked the little ways to the sofa and plopped down in her usual spot. She eyed her surrounding carefully, looking to see if anything was out of place or could give her a clue on what was being kept from her. She had believed nothing to be out of the ordinary until her eyes landed on a small scrap of lace near the end table. Suzanne reached out to lift it up and arched an eyebrow when she noticed that it was Julia's bra.

She was inspecting the garment curiously when she heard it. The loud creaking at the top of the stairs... Julia must be taking care of her laundry. Maybe she just dropped this on her way up the staircase... But, why would she have her bra downstairs? Suzanne sighed. She would never understand her big sister. She rose from the couch and started toward the stairs, intent on returning the forgotten garment to Julia but stopped still when she heard something else.

'Oh... Oh, harder...'

Suzanne froze in her tracks. Well, this... This was not what she had expected at all. Was this the secret that was being guarded so well by the others? Her big sister had some sort of new gentleman caller... Could it be that Reese Watson had maybe wormed his way back into Julia's life? She waited for a few minutes, hoping to hear another voice. One that would give a clue as to who Julia was entertaining. Minutes passed and there was nothing but the sound of Julia's headboard hitting the wall and her breathless moans.

Whoever was up there, must really know what they were doing. She had never imagined that her big sister could be so wild and wanton. She had just about given up on finding anything out before a loud scream of pleasure erupted from up the stairs.

'Oh, Anthony... Anthony.... Yes.'

Anthony! What in the sam hell was going on here? Suzanne felt her face turn pale and began to get shaky. She had to go. She could not stand here and listen to this. Had Julia just lost what was left of her mind! ANTHONY? Anthony was their delivery man for goodness sake and not just their delivery man but their black, ex-con of a delivery man! My, Lord... He wasn't even much older than Payne. How could Julia do something like this? Had she just lost all of her moral fiber? Suzanne turned on her heals in a flurry of anger and denial before slamming the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

It was 8:15 the next morning, and Julia was sitting at her desk, flipping casually through her receipt book as she sipped her coffee. She looked up when she heard humming coming from her kitchen, smiling as Anthony rounded the counter with a plate in hand, a freshly buttered English muffin and fruit sitting on top of it.

“Thank you, darlin’” she husked, smiling coyly as she remembered how much she’d enjoyed herself last night. Their first time had been greatly pleasing, but last night they’d reached a new pinnacle of passion and had spent all night and into the early hours of the morning in her bed, making love and talking. She was tired and her muscles were sore, but she couldn’t deny that she was happy, even when she heard the trill of the alarm clock only a few hours after she’d finally fallen asleep.

“Mm, my pleasure” Anthony hummed, leaning over her desk and kissing her. For his part, Anthony was completely fascinated by the Julia he had gotten to know, who was a far cry from the hard-nosed professional he’d always assumed she was. Even on their first date, he’d been intrigued to discover she’d quickly dropped her persona as they sat in the restaurant booth together, shyly talking as Julia gently held his hand and told him things he thought she would never tell anyone. He smiled at her as he watched her dig happily into her breakfast, seeing the sad, shy, sensitive person that lay under that grit and steel.

Before he could think anymore about her, the door flew open and Suzanne marched inside, slamming the door behind her and glaring at the two of them.

“…Hello, Suzanne…?” Julia said slowly, partly confused and partly panicking, as she was almost sure she knew why Suzanne looked so upset.

“Well,” Suzanne snapped, jutting her hip out, “when were ya gonna tell me you were making nice with my sister, Anthony?”

She watched Anthony choke in surprise as Julia nearly knocked her mug over in shock as she jumped to her feet.

“Suzanne, what on ea–”

“Oh don’t bother, no, I heard it all last night. ‘Oh, Anthony, oh Anthony’–I can’t believe you. I can’t believe you’ve been sleeping together and you didn’t even tell me.”

“Now, Suzanne–” Anthony started.

“Save it” she snapped, whipping her head to look at him. “You certainly wasted no time telling our friends, but me–no sir!–that you just couldn’t do!”

“We didn’t tell them, Suzanne!” Julia cried, walking toward her as Suzanne took several steps back.

“Oh, please, don’t you lie to me. Lying I can take from my husbands and boyfriends–not from my sister and my supposed true friends.”

“Suzanne, they walked in on us” Anthony said sternly, holding his hands up in front of himself defensively and following behind Julia.

“OH! So they had about as much fun as I did then!” Suzanne cried, shaking her head in disbelief. “You know, Julia, I’ve taken you for many things in your time, but a nympho was not one of them.”

“How dare you, I am not a nymphomaniac!” Julia spat back, shaking in frustration.

“Suzanne–” Anthony tried to interject, putting a protective arm around Julia.

“You know what, I don’t need your explanations, and I damn sure don’t need your pity” Suzanne said, feeling her lip quiver and biting down on it to keep from crying. “I guess I…I guess I just thought that when something happened around here that I might be the first to know, but I guess I was wrong.”

Before Anthony and Julia could even respond, Suzanne flew out of Sugarbaker’s, slamming the door so hard behind her it nearly knocked a picture off the wall.

Anthony stared at the door in shock before he felt Julia turn away from him, walking to the side table and grabbing a tissue as she sniffled softly to herself, trying to keep him from noticing.

He sighed, coming up behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders. “Don’t cry, baby” he said softly, kissing her temple.

“I’m not” she mumbled, looking at the ground and turning her face away.

It took a moment before Anthony realized that she had pulled away from him because she wasn’t comfortable crying in front of him. In fact, as he watched her now, Anthony realized he’d never seen her cry in front of anyone, period.

“Julia…?” he said quietly, walking slowly over to where she now stood near her desk.

“What?” she replied softly, her head still turned away from him.

He touched her arm and waited for her to look at him before pulling her close and kissing her forehead.

“Anthony…” she said quietly as she felt his arms wrap tightly around her.

“It’s okay, baby” he said, hearing her sniffle quietly and knowing she was crying again.

“I really messed up, Anthony” she said, pulling away from him and looking up at him, her doe eyes wet with tears as she wiped at her cheeks.

“We both were wrong, Julia, this isn’t all on you.”

“But it’s mostly on me because I’m the boss. I’m her boss, and I’m your boss–”

“And you’re also my girlfriend” Anthony said firmly, looking straight in her eyes. “You may be my boss, but you’re my girlfriend first and foremost, and this messing up thing we did is on us, not you. We both shoulda told Suzanne, and we didn’t.”

“I’ve never seen her so angry with me” Julia said quietly, fiddling with the tissue in her hand.

“It’s nothing an apology can’t fix.”

At this, Julia looked up at him for a few moments before nodding her head and grabbing her purse.

“Where you goin’?” Anthony asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

“To see Suzanne” she replied simply, walking over toward the front door.

“I’ll go with you–”

“No, no,” Julia said, holding up a hand in front of herself, “no, this apology I have to give alone. This is between sisters, and I’m the one that’s got to fix it.”

Anthony opened his mouth to argue with her before sighing, realizing she was right and nodding understandingly. “Well okay, but when you’re done I’m gonna have a talk with her too, I owe her that much.”

“I know” Julia answered, opening the door before stopping again and turning to look at him.

She was trying to figure out what to say but before she could even formulate a thought, Anthony stepped forward and kissed her gently, caressing her cheek as he said, “Good luck, baby.”

“Thanks” she replied quietly, turning and walking swiftly down the driveway. She knew if she drove fast enough, she could be at Suzanne’s in less than 30 minutes.


	6. Chapter 6

Julia knocked on the heavy oak door and sighed when she heard Consueala approaching. The uncouth maid tried in her own way to make niceties but Julia just did not have time for that right now. She asked for Suzanne and was directed toward the staircase. The limber brunette hobbled slowly up to the second floor, the soreness in her thighs along with her guilt for what had happened making her feel like the worst person on the face of the earth.

Julia braced herself as she knocked on Suzanne's bedroom door and when she didn't hear anything, she twisted the knob. The door opened with a slow creak and Julia caught sight of her little sister sitting vainly at her vanity. Suzanne turned her head and their eyes met. The aging beauty queen swallowed. She hardly even recognized her older sister.

'Who let you in here?' Suzanne asked carelessly as she went on combing through her long black curls.

'Consuela did..' Julia replied softly as she shut the bedroom door behind her. 'Look, Suzanne... We need to talk about this.'

'I believe that I have said my peace already.' Suzanne sniffed indignantly.

'Then, you need to stop and let me speak mine... I... I planned to tell you all about Anthony and I... I just... We weren't ready for it to be out in the open because we weren't sure what it was... What we were... Suzanne, I think that I am falling in love with him... And, I really am so very sorry that this is how you found out... I guess I have been kind of careless lately but... ' Julia trailed as she remembered how she had attacked Anthony at the front door and simply left it unlocked while he carried her up the staircase. 

'Falling in love? You are falling in love with him? Julia, catch a hold of yourself, will you... You can't fall in love with him. You two are from two different sides of the world... You are twenty years older than he is... And, more importantly... He IS my best friend... I don't want my older sister sleeping with the man that helps me wax my legs... That's just strange...' Suzanne grimaced as she thought about all that she had shared with the man who was now keeping Julia's bed warm. 

'Is this what all of this is about? You don't want me to steal Anthony away from you? Suzanne, listen... No matter what happens between Anthony and I, I can assure you that he will always be around to help you with whatever you might need... That being said... I won't let you treat him like some kind of slave boy. He has a kind and generous heart... I don't want it taken advantage of... And, yes I am older than him, and yes, we grew up on two different sides of the track... But, Suzanne, please believe me when I say that I have never felt more alive than I do when I am with him... ' Julia swore, tears springing to her grey green eyes as she felt her vulnerable side coming to light before she could hit the breaks on it. 

'That is just the orgasms making you feel that way... You haven't been seeing each other long enough to be this serious about him...' Suzanne signed as she shook her head. 

'Yes, Suzanne. You are completely right. The sex is a huge part of it. Do you know how much of a strain it was on me to watch you all go from passionate relationship from passionate relationship while I had to deal with a man who forced himself on me? Anthony is tender and he puts my needs first... I have never enjoyed being with a man... Not like I have enjoyed being with Anthony and I refuse to give that up... ' Julia spoke out, her voice passionate even as she fought the sobs threatening to wrack her petite frame. 

'Julia... Are you saying that Reese... He... He hurt you?' Suzanne asked cautiously, shocked by this sudden burst of emotion from her usually so stoic older sister. She stood from her seat and walked over, taking Julia in her arms immediately. 'Why did you never say anything about that before?' 

'I... I... It wasn't all that bad. I... I guess I didn't believe it... I still don't think that I have come to term with...with it yet. Oh, Suzanne... You just have to forgive me... I... I didn't mean to keep this from you. I just never expected for us to hit it off so well... I mean I always thought highly of Anthony... But I never knew... About my feelings... Until we had dinner together and he brought me home... And, kissed me... ' Julia sighed as she thought back to the night.

Julia, stop. You don't have to apologize. I am the one that took all of this the wrong way... I was being selfish, just like I always am and I am the one that is truly sorry... I just didn't expect for... THAT to be the secret that everyone was hiding... When I heard you, up there, I have to admit that I did feel some relief that you were finally getting laid... I just... I always thought that Anthony liked me... I never could have imagined that he would have the hots for you... I mean... Not that there is anything wrong with that... I mean you are beautiful, Julia and if I am being honest, I have never seen you so radiant as you are right now.' Suzanne admitted as she pulled away to look at her older sister, using her thumb to wipe the stray tears away.

'I have never so in love with anyone... Not even Hayden.' Julia confessed in a quiet voice as she looked at Suzanne through her long lashes. 'I... I accept your apology if you promise that you are going to try and accept us... Because, I am not planning on letting Anthony get away anytime soon.'

'And, if he makes you this happy then I wouldn't want you to... I promise... That I will try... But, Julia... You all need to promise that you will lock the door when you are planning to be intimate... I don't ever want to hear my older sister and my best friend making love ever again.' Suzanne winced, making Julia laugh as the two women hugged each other tightly.

'Oh, Suzanne. I love you..' Julia smiled.

'I love you too, big sister.'


	7. Chapter 7

The door to Sugarbaker's swung open and Anthony spun around, hoping to see either Julia or Suzanne. Charlene and Mary Jo had already come and gone, having had to rush out a little after 9 to a client meeting, and he'd spent the rest of his time pacing up and down the living room floor, praying they hadn't messed things up too much for Suzanne not to forgive them. 

"Suzanne..." he said, surprised to see her walking through the door, Julia following close behind. 

"Hey, Anthony" Suzanne said softly, smiling apologetically at him. "I guess I shou--"

"No, no, Suzanne, let me say this first" Anthony said, cutting her off and looking at her carefully. "I'm sorry. What I did was wrong and immature, and I never should have kept my relationship with Julia a secret from you. I don't blame you for bein' mad, and I also don't blame you if you don't want us to date. I'm the man, I should've gone to you--"

"Wait, Anthony" Suzanne said, holding up a hand to stop him and walking over to where he stood. "I won't lie, I'm not happy about how I found out" she said softly, looking away briefly before looking back at him. "But I also can't lie and say that I don't understand why you and Julia like each other" she said, glancing back at her big sister. "You're kind, you're big-hearted--God knows you put all of us first and do whatever we ask you to" she said, smirking slightly as she thought about all the nights Anthony had come over and helped her wax her legs. 

"Yeah, I've definitely gone farther than I ever thought I could go" Anthony replied wryly, smiling back at her and chuckling to himself.

Suzanne studied him carefully before shrugging her shoulders and saying quietly, "Julia told me how well you've been treating her, and how you make her feel, and well...I would just like to say that if you make my big sister happy, well...then you also make me happy, because I want Julia to be happy, and I know she hasn't really been that in a long time."

"Oh, Suzanne..." Julia said softly, coming up beside her and squeezing her arm affectionately.

Suzanne shrugged as she shifted uncomfortably, not wanting things to get too emotional. "Yeah, well, ya know...it's just..." she trailed off, looking back at Julia again before looking up at Anthony. "It's just that she's my big sister...and I've watched her get hurt plenty of times and I don't need to see that again. So I'm telling you now, Anthony--if you want me to trust you with her heart, you better be serious, because I will go to bat for her if you hurt her and it won't be pretty."

Anthony couldn't help but chuckle as he shook his head and looked at Suzanne in amusement. "Suzanne...I can't promise you much but I can promise you this. I am a man of honor, and I'm a man of my word because that's how my grandmama raised me, and I wouldn't be datin' Julia if I didn't think that my life was made infinitely better by having her in it."

Suzanne turned to look at Julia and saw her bite her lip, tears springing into her eyes as she looked shyly at Anthony. She smirked, looked back at Anthony and said, "Well, you're gonna hug her now, ain't ya?"

Anthony laughed and reached his arms out as Julia walked over to him and wrapped her hands around his waist, squeezing him tightly and smiling in a way Suzanne hadn't seen her smile in years. 

Julia turned to Suzanne and reached a hand toward her, sniffling softly as she said, "I love you, Suzanne."

Suzanne grinned, wrapping an arm around Julia's waist and replying, "I love you too, big sister. Y'all take good care of each other now, you hear me? I need someone to boss me around and someone to wax my legs, which means I need both of ya."

Julia giggled, shaking her head and giving Anthony another squeeze before letting him go. 

"Guess I outta be gettin' on my way and gettin' to work. Those throw pillows won't deliver themselves you know" he said, kissing Julia's cheek before making his way to the back door as she waved goodbye to him.

Suzanne watched him leave and then nudged Julia and said, "No 'I love you?' before he leaves?"

Julia hesitated, then shook her head and said, "Not yet, Suzanne."

Suzanne nodded understandingly before walking to her spot on the sofa as Julia walked dreamily over to her desk, humming to herself as she pulled her sketchbook out. Suzanne waited a few moments before turning slightly, glancing inconspicuously at Julia and watching her go about her work with a shy grin on her face that Suzanne hadn't seen since she was a teenager. She smiled in spite of herself, realizing finally what it was she'd felt when she watched Julia with Anthony as he'd held her in his arms.

It was trust, a level of trust she'd never felt toward Reese Watson, but one that she knew Anthony was deserving of. 

She knew where Julia's heart was concerned, he would love her gently.


End file.
